on salePilot Vanishing Point Fountain Pen - Stripes

I bought this pen because I:
1. wanted to see if the nib was better than the nib on my Storm Trooper VP, and
2. I wanted a better apples to apples comparison to my dialog 3 with Palladium finish.
Background: I bought a glossy white VP with black trim and nib (Storm Trooper look-alike) with an nib from a different vendor. The nib was scratchy enough to rip holes in paper, and so dry that you couldn’t read what I wrote. I sent the nib back, they adjusted it, returned it, and it was better, but still not up to my expectations. I used micro mesh and Mylar paper, and made it better and wider, but it was still not right. And so I ordered the VP Stripes with an nib. Much better than the nib, and fine enough for what I wanted. It’s also on the dry side, so writing on cheap copier paper doesn’t cause much bleed through. The fit and finish is flawless. The rhodium plating looks fantastic. However, the finish also reduces friction, and makes it one of the slipperiest pens I own. The matte black finish is the grippiest. The knock mechanism is mechanically simple, and should last for a very long time.
Bottom Line: VP Stripes is “just” a VP, but a very good looking one. If you want the convenience of a retractable nib that you can operate with one hand, writes well, and has enough ink for at least 8 pages before needing a refill, this might be the pen for you.

Thank you so much for such prompt service & shipping, as well as an excellent item as described! Second to none!!

I am a big Vanishing Point fan. I think I've bought about 6 of them, 3 for myself and 3 to penable friends and family.

I ordered the medium nib expecting from other reviews for the strokes to be narrower than what I am used to. This pen has the broadest stroke of any of my medium pens! Perhaps this one is just a little wide set, but I was surprised. Thr pen itself is absolutely stunning and writes like a dream! It is my workhorse pen now. I fill 1-2 times a day. I do feel the need to polish the pen every few days but this is easy maintenance.

I did end up getting another nib unit (I ordered a Fine initially, chose to get a Medium later) but the pen itself is a gorgeous piece of work. Lighter than I expected it to be, but I got a bit used to my Kaweco Brass Sport, so maybe that was why. I prefer that feel anyway, so I'll take this one over the standard versions. Fine obviously has more feedback and can feel a bit scratchier, but nowhere near as bad as some steel nib pens I've used. But even on office paper, with the proper ink, the Fine nib writes wonderfully, with a thin line that I prefer in any other writing instrument. But the Medium just glides across my Mnemosyne notebook. Were I to go back in time, I'm not sure I would go for the Fine nib, but it does use less ink. Even on normal paper it feels better than any ballpoint will, only needs to touch the paper to flow, I can write with no additional pressure. I'll end up getting another Vanishing Point body assembly somewhere down the line so I can have a proper housing for both nibs at once. With the Medium nib, I quite like Organics Studio's Nitrogen ink, the pigmentation shows beautifully and it just soars across the page. Too bad my handwriting skills don't match the equipment I'm using.